What Next
by SilverSnowflake9798
Summary: After everything is said and done, Sinbad wonders what happens next. The one person he never expected to see again is the one to help him feel better about wondering. Slight Hakuei Sinbad. Spoilers for 283-286


**A possible way things may end. Not likely, but I had the idea and wanted to share it. A bit sinei at the end, so if you want to skip it, just don't read the end.**

Was it over?

How could you tell?

You may think it is. You may cross the finish line. You may finally complete the mission you set out to do years ago. You may find that one person you were looking for. You may die. But there is one question that plagues all of these 'endings.' One question that makes someone wonder if endings really exist.

What happens next?

Sinbad used to know that. Everyone looked up to him as the man who saw ahead, planned for the future in ways that no one could comprehend. His ideas were mind-blowing, he always seemed to be one step ahead of everyone. Even when they think they had gotten that step further, that one clue that he hadn't considered, they were wrong. Sinbad took pride in that. He used it to his advantage.

But looking down at the city below him, he wondered if he was just as lost as everyone else.

Standing in his office was something he did regularly. The window showed off the main city, gleaming lights and new technology unheard of only a decade ago. He thought that all his achievements had been worth it. He'd always told himself that it didn't matter how he did it, as long as the end goal was the same. He hadn't set out on his journey trying to destroy others' lives. To deceive the people he cared about, and who cared about him. Never had he ever considered working with a man as evil as Solomon's father to get what he wanted. His intentions had been noble. But as time had passed, he wondered if it really matted. If at the end, everyone was happy, who would really care how it all came together?

He thought it would all be worth it.

He was wrong.

The people didn't know. They didn't know all he had done, all he had allowed to happen in order for their glorious future to come to life. His generals didn't know. Other countries leaders didn't know. Only a few people knew just what had happened. Thing had changed because of it. The world wasn't the perfect place he'd set it out to be. At first he had been angry at all the changes Aladdin and Alibaba had made to the world he thought was perfect. But once he'd truly been separated from the darkness, he saw the world he made for what it was.

A fraud.

He'd worked with David. He'd worked with Arba.

He'd destroyed himself.

Was it over?

With one hand he covered his face, unable to look at his reflection. Unable to look at the man he had become. How could he keep going? How could he face the reality of what he'd done to achieve his great world? He'd tried to ignore it. Hide it away in a room and throw away the key. But the room got bigger and bigger. It was impossible to ignore.

The other countries were demanding a statement. They wanted to know why his rules had been changed, what had happened in the last year since Alibaba got back. Sinbad didn't know how to tell them. Why should he? According to him, everything was over. Someone else should have taken the reigns. Do what he had failed to do. It was done. What next? Nothing was next. Not for him anyway.

His contemplations were interrupted by a knock on the door. The sound made Sinbad jump in surprise. No one knocked on doors anymore. Hardly anyone came through the door. They would fly through the window, or transport themselves to his large office, overlooking the city. It took him a moment to remember how to react. "Come In," he ordered, quickly composing himself. The door slowly opened, and the sound of it scraping against the wall made Sinbad flinch. He should have gotten it fixed.

As the visitor slipped inside, Sinbad realized it wasn't who he had been expecting. His first instinct had been Jafar, or possible Masrur. Maybe one of the generals, or Aladdin coming to try and decide what to do next. A servant with news perhaps. But the person who walked in was the last person he ever expected it to be. The one person he thought in his entire life he would never, ever see again. And she walked into his door.

Ren Hakuei looked up at him with her sea blue eyes.

His own golden eyes widened at the sight of her. Princess Hakuei? What would she want to talk to him about? Of course Sinbad knew who she was. He'd seen her come and go from his office many occasions. But then, it hadn't really been her. It had been Arba. The same person who'd possessed her mother. Perhaps she'd thought it would be easier to possess someone with the same genes. Sinbad had never thought too much into it. He'd seen the princess a few times, and it took him a while to see her as Arba, and not the kind princess Aladdin had spoken of. Over the years, Sinbad had wondered what she must have been going through. Was she alive inside her body? Had she been sent away, like Alibaba? Could she see all that was happening around her? Did she even know she was possessed, or did she think it that she was in control and Arba deceived her into thinking it was her own thoughts going through her head? Were Arba's acting skills really on point? What was the real princess like? As cruel and deceitful as Arba? Or the kind, loving person Arba acted out to be?

He wondered if she was in pain. If he should command Arba to leave her body, at least so it was less suspicious to the people who cared about her. At least give the girl a chance at a life that was being sucked away from her before her eyes.

But Sinbad had never done anything about it. He needed Arba. Hakuei had just been another person caught in the crossfire.

He'd never even spoken to her. The real Hakuei anyway.

He never thought he would.

"Excuse me," She hesitated, nervous eyes darting around the room. "King…Sinbad? Are you busy?" Sinbad nearly smirked. Arba would have never been so hesitant. Never would have asked if it was alright to talk. He wondered if she even knew he had a door.

Forcing his previous thoughts away, he put on a smile. "No princess Hakuei. You may come in." At first she didn't move, pondering if it was really alright to simply walk in on a man who usually was busy for months at a time. But eventually she let her worries pass and walked in, her footsteps echoing through the room far too large for just one person. The silence was maddening to Sinbad. If it was quiet for even one moment, he knew he would begin to wonder again. Wonder what would happen next. Something he never had to question before. "I must say princess," he forced out, more to break the silence than anything. "I didn't expect to see you…here." _Or ever again._ "I thought you have already returned to Kou. Tell me, what's brought you here?"

She glanced up, a few layers of pride being chipped away from the last time he'd seen her as herself. In the battle of magnustand, standing proud with her cousins after the battle. Instead of a warrior, she looked like a normal person. Someone capable of pain. "I was…looking for you…I wanted to apologize," She forced herself to say.

But the previous king didn't understand. Apologize? "What do you have to apologize for Princess?" he questioned. Again, she hesitated.

"For…for all that I many have done while possessed by Arba." She bowed her head, her appearance humble and full of guilt. "I apologize for anything I may have done in the last three or so years while I wasn't in complete control. For any disrespect, damage, or cruel actions that were caused by me, I take full responsibility for them and apologize for everything."

Sinbad's eyes widened. He hadn't been expecting that. Everyone else who'd come to speak to him hadn't apologized for anything. It had mostly been questions for what had really happened. Some people were angry, yelled at him for what he'd done or swore they'd never see him again. His allies had been sympathetic towards him, hoping to try and help him. Her own sister, Kougyoku had been furious with him for years. An apology by the one person who was hurt the most, perhaps not by his hands but nonetheless hurt, was the last thing he'd expected. "…how much do you remember?" He questioned, more out of curiosity than anything. It didn't matter what she remembered. It wouldn't change anything.

Her lips tightened out of frustration. "Not much, I'm afraid. The last few years are all…blurry. Aladdin says it's likely I will never remember what happened completely. But knowing what kind of person Arba was, I doubt anything she did was something I could be proud of. I've already apologized to your generals and anyone else I may have come in contact with over the last few years. I wanted to apologize to you…before I left." Before she left. Back home to Kou. Where she belonged. She'd probably have a hard time adjusting back to her life. Much like he would with his situation. That much he could sympathize with.

Sadly, he gave her a smile. "You have no reason to apologize to me Princess. I understand your…situation better than most." Hakuei nodded, but the shame never left her face. How could she feel so guilty having not been in complete control and only knowing bits and pieces of the story? With a start he wondered just what Arba had been doing when she wasn't giving him the information he wanted. How scared the princess must be.

Scared for the future.

Just like him.

"What will you do now princess?" Sinbad asked more for himself than for her. "You will go back to Kou. What then?" Hakuei looked surprised. She hadn't been expecting him to question her. She'd expected an apology, either forgiveness or something she could do to make up for what she'd done, then a farewell. Sinbad and Hakuei had never even spoken to each other before she was taken over. They were not close. Why would he care what would happen to her.

Out of respect, she did answer. "I will be sent back to Kou…As a general. They have taken away my metal vessel for the time being until I can prove myself trustworthy. As well as told me to share leadership of my people with another general of their choosing." The idea didn't seem to delight her. After the stories Aladdin had told of his adventures with her, Sinbad wasn't surprised.

"Sounds like quite the demotion." Hakuei's head hung, Sinbad being the first one willing to say what everyone was thinking. But she shook her disappointment off, trying to look as proud as possible.

"I suppose it's not what I hoped. I expected nothing less however. Hopefully, in time it will not remain this way." The way she was able to still hope for the best brought a small smile to his face. It reminded him of himself, so idealistic and working for the best despite the odds. There was never anything he couldn't return from.

After everything, he wasn't so sure anymore.

"And what after that," he questioned. "Will you continue to try and gain your countries trust? Try and gather more and more countries to join the Kou Empire? Continue working until they finally trust you with your own army? Work patiently till they give you back your metal vessel? Then continue to do what they say? Will you remain as a general in their army? Try and find another dungeon or quest to fulfill? More countries to explore? Perhaps get married and have children of your own?" Hakuei's face flushed at the last suggestion. Her confusion nearly overshadowed her ability to answer.

"I…I have not decided such things…Why are you asking me King-…Sinbad?" It occurred to her that perhaps she shouldn't' be calling him king anymore. But Sinbad was too informal. And he had no last name which she knew of.

Sinbad didn't notice her hesitation. Instead he turned back to the city below him, watching people bustle with their daily jobs in earnest. Sinbad preferred to keep his deepest emotions to himself, be private with his own thoughts. But then, much against his own conscious, he decided to confide in the one person who may have been the only one close to understanding his own feelings. "Thinking about the future…is something I've always done. I've always been prepared for what lies ahead. I've always known what happens next, been one step ahead of others. For the first time…I don't know the answers. I ruined what I wished to be the perfect ending. Yet the ending has happened, whether I wanted it to or not." He stared out at the world he'd created. One he'd been so proud to call his own. One that had never truly been his.

"This was supposed to be the end of my journey. But life goes on. I don't know what happens now. What happens after the end?" Hakuei didn't know how to respond. The king asking her for advice was not something she could have ever expected. She didn't think he'd even care about her visit, and the two of them would go on with their lives. But she knew he wasn't trying to make a fool of her. His pain was genuine, and she could see the confusion in his actions. Hear the frightened worry of a child in his voice. Her heart went out to him. She wanted to help.

Desperately, she searched through her mind to try and find the best piece of advice she could offer him. "Well sir…if I may…I try not to think of things as an end. I try to think of everything as simply…another chapter." Sinbad's ears perked up. As an avid book reader, something to do with books was easy for him to understand. "In the book there are many chapters. But the characters in the story don't know that. What they think is the end is just the last page of one chapter. In fact, what they don't know is that the book hasn't finished yet, and there is more to be read. One portion of the book does not define the entire story. It's all the chapters together that makes the book. And the characters in the book would never know when it ends. For them, it never does. They just keep going and going, knowing there is no end for the chapters never stop.'

'That's how I think of life I suppose," She concluded. "Terrible things may happen in one chapter. The character thinks it's the end, but it's not. The character doesn't know what will happen in the next chapter, but it still happens whether they planned it or not. Your story is not over, king Sinbad. It's simply going onto a different stage. The world will continue to move around while you keep still. If you don't like what happened in the last few chapters of your story, than you should change it."

Hakuei paused, allowing him to debate her words. He did. The story was still going. He had more chapters ahead of him. He liked how she had said the character never knew the end. He was happy about that. He hadn't expected such a helpful answer, however cheesy it was. Sometimes cheesy comments were exactly what someone needed to hear.

"…I see…thank you for your advice." Hakuei nodded, wishing she could do more.

But knowing she couldn't stay kept her from continuing. "Thank you for listening. I must be getting going." With what she thought was the final word, she turned and started towards the door.

"…I didn't know you, Hakuei Ren," Sinbad admitted, not to anyone's surprise. "But I knew of you." Hakuei paused, turning again so she could face him. "Arba acted like you, in different ways. It was easy to tell when she was trying to deceive others into thinking she was you, and when she was being herself. The two of you are very different, this meeting has proven that. When she tried to be you, she was kind and caring, worried about those around her. Aladdin told me of the kind of person you were. I wondered sometimes what kind of a woman would have been able to achieve all that you did, despite the limitations around you. Despite what happened in your life, you still became a person no one could suspect would come out of that fire. You were not Arba, in any shape or form." Hakuei's heart lifted at the words, a gentle encouragement to remind her that what Arba had done was not due to Hakuei's actions.

But that wasn't the intention of Sinbad's speech. He wasn't done talking. "A woman pass all odds. Strong, capable, kind. I never paid much attention to Arba. She disturbed me, in more ways than one. But when she was acting like you, I did a double take. Her…you…were a person that I could not have expected. Someone different, despite all that was around her. When Arba was acting like you, I'll admit, I could sometimes convince myself that she was not herself. Perhaps that was just me trying to escape my own guilt. But in a way, I was glad you were the one she possessed. When she was pretending to be you…it made things more bearable. So thank you for that, I suppose." Again, Hakuei wasn't sure how to react. Sheepishly, she nodded, accepting his thanks. Again, he was not done. "From what I have seen of you here…what I have heard of you…I can't help but wonder." He spoke the words more thoughtfully. To himself, not taking them to heart. But considering them all the same.

"Wonder what, king Sinbad?" Slowly, his eyes returned to her. He took in her dark hair going down her back, the pale dress she wore with symbols of Kou, and her hands folded respectfully, finally free of that staff that Hakuei'd never wanted to hold. Her blue eyes pure and clean, free from the dark red and black of Arba's soul. A beautiful woman indeed.

"I wonder if you could have been a woman I would have come to love."

It seemed like time stopped. Not in a way that they were both happy at his words. Neither were happy. Neither were upset either. They were more...confused. Sinbad didn't say the words like a declaration, or a confession to feelings he had been hiding for a while. Instead he sounded like he was looking into the past, wondering what life would have been like if things had been. If she'd never been possessed. If they'd met on different terms, and she'd been herself instead of someone else. Would they have been standing where they were then? Or in an entirely different situation all together? Neither could tell. They never would know.

"Perhaps," Hakuei mused, a sad smile appearing on her face. "But due to circumstances, I don't think that will ever be a reality king Sinbad." The creator of Sindria didn't argue. He had no reason to. They both knew the truth. While both being idealists, there were some things that just couldn't be changed.

"…I suppose," Sinbad agreed, a bitter smile on his face as well. "Fate just wasn't on our side it seems."

"Another life then," Hakuei suggested, trying to be genuine with her words. "Another world. One where our first meeting wasn't so…extreme." Sinbad nearly laughed at her description, but couldn't bring himself to it. His heart weighed down too much on his soul.

The smile he showed her was real enough. "I will be looking forward to that life." Hakuei nodded, and a peaceful silence surrounding them. They took each other in, appearances, what they knew of each other, what they didn't. All that could have been, what they could have had, what they didn't have. Reality. A different life that would never exist.

A tragic ending to something that never started.

The doors burst open, snapping them both out of the trance. They turned to face Seisyuun, Hakuei's number 1 companion. "F-forgive me my princess," he bowed. "The Kouga people are in front of the building, asking for you to come down!" Hakuei's eyes widened in surprise.

"What? But I told them I'd be down in half an hour!" Seisyuun shrugged.

"I couldn't stop them your majesty. They haven't seen you-…the real you in a long time. They missed you." Hakuei sighed, sounding tired. But others could tell that she was hiding a smile.

Turning back, Hakuei tried to say something as an excuse, but Sinbad waved it off. "It's alright. Go see your friends. I hope we meet each other again someday." As she left, Hakuei decided honesty was best.

"Thank you Sinbad. But I doubt that we will." He was slightly surprised at that conclusion, but wondered if it was correct.

If it was, he didn't want their last meeting to be sour. With all his willpower, he put a smile on his face. "Then goodbye princess Hakuei. I wish I could have gotten to know you better."

"And I wish I could have known you under different circumstances," She told him. "Goodbye King Sinbad."

"…Goodbye."

The doors boomed shut, leaving Sinbad by his lonesome. He stood there for a moment, debating the conversation that couldn't have been more than 15 minutes, but felt like 15 years. The pages in his book continued to slip away as he stood there, wondering the same things he had before. But with more information than he had in the last chapter. And knowing that there were more chapters to come.

Silently, after a longer time than he could calculate, he turned back to the window. But instead of watching the landscape, he glanced down to where the Kouga people were. There certainly were a lot of them. Narrowing his eyes he searched through the crowd until he found the only one with raven hair. She was being hugged consistently by many of the red-haired people, huge smiles on all of their faces. Some of them were brought to tears. Sinbad wondered what kind of person you would have to be to make someone cry with joy at your return. Sinbad, unfortunately, would never find out.

Leaning against the wall, he crossed his arm against a wooden frame and used the other to support his chin. As he watched the scene unfold below him, he let out a sigh.

"Another world, huh?"

 **…** **Kind of rushed…and cheesy…and doesn't make much sense…I don't know, I wanted to write it. Hope you liked it!**


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